Review of American Beauty (1999) by Tom W — 14 Mar 2014

American Beauty is stock full of great performances, great dialogue, great imagery, and most importantly.....a great message....too often to films seem to simply aim to entertain with laughs, explosions, plot twists, violence, etc.

without really ever mentally engaging the audience...yes, a film can be a medium for entertainment, but it can also be a powerful instrument in calling attention to topics and ideas that need to payed attention to.

..American Beauty is one of those films...much like its title would hint, the film focuses in on the 'beauty' of America, but not from the traditional standpoint....rather, it focuses in on the concept of beauty more so from an internal point of view.

..watching the characters experience their transformations from start to finish is such an interesting way to essentially call out the mainstream idea of what beauty truly is...in particular, beauty is used to oppose and assist the idea of being 'ordinary'.

..so some, beauty is fiting in with those around you, while to others, it may be breaking from the pack and being a 'true indivivual'....but the reality of the fact is that beauty really is what you make of it.

...that may seem cliche, but it truly is a deep statement when you stop and think about it....you really see this Spacey's performance.....not to mention, that Mendez does a great job of not beating you over the head with his message, while at the same time, not trying to make you fish for it.

...the film just has this great sense of balance that really makes it a moving experience....overall, American Beauty is a fantastic balance of humor, drama, acting, and most of all emotion/intellectual depth that is most definitely most beautiful in its own regard.

..both when it released back in 1999 or 13+ years later.